My Neighbor Totoro

With only decent animation and a mediocre storyline, this Miyazaki film fails to match his more imaginative pictures, or the subdued and realistic Grave of the Fireflies, which was created and released simultaneously. In fact, there is very little to necessitate - or at least justify - this film being animated. The story begins with a father and his two young daughters moving to an old house in the Japanese countryside - their mother is ill and confined to the hospital. The girls soon discover the presence of spirits in the house and surrounding forest, including the rotund, bearlike grumbler they call Totoro. But there is surprisingly little of the curious forest dwellers (which only the children seem able to see), as the film gives in inordinate amount of time to squealing children and the bland plot. From the drawings to the story, My Neighbor Totoro is not particularly inventive (it often seems to be imitating Alice in Wonderland), and seems a little more intended for children than other Studio Ghibli projects.

Um?
2.5 out of 5
Buy this film: My Neighbor Totoro

Plot: 2
Imagery: 3
Originality: 3
Soundtrack: 2
Overall: 2.5